Balancing life lessons and lectures

Top schools in the city not only aim to achieve academic excellence but also focus on nurturing the future leaders of the country. Two social indicators — life skills education and value system integration — are essential to inculcating leadership skills in every child.

In the HT-- C-fore survey, Carmel Convent has emerged as the top school in the town for life skills education with 40 out of 50 points. The school was ranked second last year.

Principal of Carmel Convent Maria Swati says seminars on life skills are organised in the school regularly. “We recently conducted a workshop on self-defence in the school. We focus on inculcating life skills in our children. We encourage them to undertake social work. Recently, our students organised a cleanliness drive in a village in the state.”

Strawberry Fields, which did not find a place in the top 10 schools on the parameter of life skills education last year, sprang a huge surprise this year by clinching the second spot (39 points). St John’s High School has retained its third spot with 38 points.

St Anee’s Convent School is ranked first in Chandigarh on the parameter of value system integration this year as well (46 out of 50 points). St John’s High School, which was third last year, has gone up a notch this year (45 points). At the third spot is Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School (44 points), which was ranked fourth last year.

Nisha, principal of Sacred Heart, says: “It is essential to mould students into good and responsible human beings. Our children are associated with various social activities. They have also tied up with several non-governmental organisations. We try to inculcate values like sharing, discipline and honesty in our students.”

The HT-- C-fore survey also assesses schools on the parameter of social accountability — the extent to which schools have made education inclusive by reaching out to children from disadvantaged sections.

There are no surprises on this count as St John’s School has retained its top spot (45/50) while Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School (44) and Carmel Convent School (43) are ranked second and third respectively this year as well.

Reema Dewan, principal of Delhi Public School, believes that schools need to be empathetic towards students from disadvantaged sections. She adds: “We treat all students, including those from economically weaker sections (EWS), equally. They are very much a part of our family."